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Turnip

Brassica rapa · brassicas

Turnip (Brassica rapa) is a biennial in the brassicas.

Also called Bok Choy, Napa Cabbage.

Turnips growing in the ground with their leafy tops
Photo: Miya · CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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What the corpus records

Sowing depth
1.3 cm0.5 in
Spacing in row
10 cm4 in
Mature height
30–40 cm12–16 in
Mature spread
15–20 cm6–8 in
Soil pH
6–7.5
Days to maturity
40–60
Light
Full sun
Feeding
Moderate feeder
Root depth
Medium
Frost tolerance
Half hardy
Lifespan
Biennial
Habit
Root
Value to pollinators
None

Cultivar groups

The same species behaves differently by cultivar group, so the planner resolves size, timing and support against the group rather than the species.

Which of these numbers are soft

Every number above carries a confidence tier. These are the ones the corpus does not stand behind — estimated from general knowledge, or contested between sources. They are shown because hiding them would be the dishonest half of showing the rest.

Rules that apply to Turnip

Promising

Do not plant brassicas in ground that held brassicas within 4 years (extension recommends 4-7, and even that is not a cure).

costly if ignored → warn

Mechanism: Plasmodiophora brassicae forms thick-walled resting spores that survive in soil more than 10 years. They germinate in wet, acidic soil (pH < 7); liming above ~7.2 suppresses infection. Spores outlast any garden rotation, so a host-free break reduces but does not clear inoculum.

Evidence: confirmed against 3 sources in the research-based literature.

the 3 sources

NC State Extension, 'Clubroot of Brassicas', content.ces.ncsu.edu/clubroot-of-brassicas (read 2026-07-11): 'Plasmodiophora brassicae is capable of surviving in the soil for more than 10 years by producing thick-walled, resting spores'; 'Infested fields should be rotated away from brassica for a minimum of 4-7 years, but this is not guaranteed to prevent disease'; 'Liming to raise soil pH to 7.[2]'.

Cornell Vegetables, 'Clubroot of Crucifers', vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/clubroot-of-crucifers (read 2026-07-11): 'the pathogen survives for many years even in the absence of host crops'; 'rotation of at least 7 years out of susceptible crucifers may be effective.'

UMass Extension, 'Brassicas, Clubroot', ag.umass.edu/vegetable/fact-sheets/brassicas-clubroot (read 2026-07-11): 'Long (5-7 years) rotations between brassica crops'; 'Maintain a high pH by regular applications of lime.'

remedy

Plant brassicas in different ground, or wait at least 4 years — extension recommends 4 to 7. Rotation alone is not a cure: the resting spores outlast it, and raising soil pH above ~7.2 suppresses infection.

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Promising

Do not apply fresh high-N fertilizer to root crops.

suboptimal if ignored → advise

Mechanism: Excess N drives foliage at the expense of root bulking. (Forking is a separate problem — caused by rocks, compaction, or coarse/fresh organic matter in the root path, not by nitrogen.)

Evidence: confirmed against 2 sources in the research-based literature.

the 2 sources

UMN Extension, 'Growing carrots and parsnips in home gardens', extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-carrots-and-parsnips (read 2026-07-11): 'Excessive nitrogen fertilization can also contribute to lots of leaf growth at the expense of root growth'; 'Forked, or split, roots may result from rocky, heavy, or compacted soil.'

Univ. of Illinois Extension, 'Carrots', extension.illinois.edu/gardening/carrots (read 2026-07-11): 'excess organic debris such as woodchips worked into the soil just before planting also may affect root penetration, causing forked and twisted roots'; hairy roots 'are caused by a viral disease known as "aster yellows."'

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Promising

On ground that has carried brassicas within the rotation interval, a measured soil pH below about 7.2 leaves clubroot's door open; raising it is the lever extension names, and the direction is all we give.

suboptimal if ignored → advise

Mechanism: Plasmodiophora brassicae's resting spores germinate in wet soil below about pH 7.0, and alkaline soil with high calcium suppresses the infection; liming to 7.1 to 7.5 slowly reduces severity but is not reliable once an infestation is established.

Evidence: confirmed against 4 sources in the research-based literature.

the 4 sources

NC State Extension, 'Clubroot of Brassicas', content.ces.ncsu.edu/clubroot-of-brassicas (fetched in-container 2026-09-02; read by the maintainer 2026-09-02): 'The pathogen germinates in wet soils when the soil temperature is between 18 and 25 ºC (64 to 77 F), and the soil pH is acidic (pH less than 7.0)'; 'Alkaline soils and soils with high calcium content suppress the potential of the pathogen to initiate infection'; 'Liming to raise soil pH to 7.1-7.5 can slowly reduce disease severity, although this strategy is not completely reliable when there is a well-established infestation'; 'Calcitic lime is recommended over dolomitic lime unless the field has low levels of magnesium'; host list 'broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, collard, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, oilseed rape (canola), radish, rutabaga, and turnip.'

UMass Extension, 'Brassicas, Clubroot', umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/vegetable/fact-sheets/brassicas-clubroot (fetched in-container 2026-09-02; read by the maintainer 2026-09-02): 'The disease is favored by soils with a pH less than 7.0'; 'Maintain a high pH by regular applications of lime'; 'Calcitic lime is preferred over dolomitic, except where magnesium levels are low'; 'High pH can lead to boron deficiency in coarse soils'; 'occurs on broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, rutabaga, and radish.'

UConn IPM, 'Clubroot of Crucifers', ipm.cahnr.uconn.edu/clubroot-of-crucifers (fetched in-container 2026-09-02; read by the maintainer 2026-09-02): 'Maintain soil pH at 7.0-7.2 where clubroot is a concern. Lime well ahead of planting and incorporate thoroughly'; 'Monitor boron where pH is raised, especially on coarse soils'; 'It affects crops such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, collards, turnips, rutabagas, radishes, mustard greens, and other brassicas.'

Cornell Vegetables, 'Clubroot of Crucifers', vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/clubroot-of-crucifers (fetched in-container 2026-09-02; read by the maintainer 2026-09-02): host range - most susceptible 'cabbage, Chinese cabbage, Brussels sprouts, some turnips, wormseed mustard, and some species of candytuft'; medium 'kohlrabi, kale, cauliflower, collards, broccoli, rutabaga, seakale, some turnips and radishes'; mildly 'rape (canola), black mustard, some turnip and radish varieties, and tumble mustard'; very resistant or occasionally immune 'wintercress; or yellow rocket, horseradish, shepherd's purse, wallflower, dames violet, peppergrass, garden cress, stock, and some radishes'. On pH: 'soil pH should be adjusted to pH 6.8 with ground limestone'; 'It is essential that hydrated lime be added each year unless the soil pH exceeds 7.5'; 'the use of nitrogen fertilizers will reduce soil pH (nullifying the beneficial effects of liming).'

remedy

Raise this ground's pH toward 7.2 with lime well ahead of planting - calcitic rather than dolomitic unless your magnesium is low - and watch for boron shortage on coarse soils once the pH is up. How much lime is your lab's number, not ours: a rate needs the buffer pH on a report. Rotation stays the first lever; this is the second.

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A good hunch

A specialist pest or pathogen finds and builds on a continuous single-family host patch more readily than one broken by non-host families.

suboptimal if ignored → advise

Mechanism: Resource concentration - a specialist locates and holds its host more efficiently at higher host density and continuity, so an unbroken run of one family across adjacent beds is an easier target than the same family separated by a non-host (associational resistance).

Evidence: confirmed against 2 sources in the research-based literature.

the 2 sources

Root 1973, 'Organization of a plant-arthropod association in simple and diverse habitats: the fauna of collards (Brassica oleracea)', Ecological Monographs 43:95-124 (abstract read by the maintainer 2026-08-21): proposes 'the resource concentration hypothesis, which states that herbivores are more likely to find and remain on hosts that are growing in dense or nearly pure stands; that the most specialized species frequently attain higher relative densities in simple environments.' This is another rule here's claim and mechanism verbatim.

Elmstrom, Andow & Barclay 1988, 'Flea beetle movement in a broccoli monoculture and diculture', Environmental Entomology 17(2):299-305 (read by the maintainer 2026-08-21): the empirical test on a brassica specialist (the flea beetle Phyllotreta cruciferae) - immigration ~1.3x faster into monocultures than into dicultures, emigration ~2x faster from dicultures - reported as 'strong, direct support for the hypothesis that host plants are harder to find and easier to lose in vegetationally diverse habitats than in monocultures.'

remedy

Where one family fills adjacent beds in a single season, breaking the run with a non-host family between them lengthens the distance the specialist must travel to the next host. Disclosed, never docked: a continuous single-family block can be the right call anyway - a wind-pollinated crop like corn sets better massed - so the app names the trade-off and leaves the choice to the gardener.

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Promising

Cold-hardy annuals can be sown or transplanted before the last spring frost — hardy crops about three weeks before, half-hardy about two weeks before. Tender crops wait for the frost itself.

suboptimal if ignored → advise

Mechanism: Cold hardiness. Hardy crops tolerate hard frost and half-hardy crops tolerate light frost, so they can occupy the ground weeks before frost-tender crops are allowed in. The offset is measured from the last spring frost.

Evidence: confirmed against 4 sources in the research-based literature.

the 4 sources

University of Illinois Extension, 'Time Your Vegetable Plantings by Cold Hardiness' (2018-03-26), extension.illinois.edu/blogs/ilriverhort/2018-03-26-time-your-vegetable-plantings-cold-hardiness: very hardy vegetables 'withstand freezing temperatures and hard frosts without injury' (planted earliest in spring); frost-tolerant vegetables 'can withstand light frosts, but not freezing temperatures' (planted a couple of weeks later). LLM-summarised from a read of the page; it establishes the CATEGORIES but states no week offsets.

Colorado State Univ. Extension, GardenNotes #720, 'Vegetable Planting Guide', extension.colostate.edu/resource/vegetable-planting-guide (read 2026-07-25): hardy vegetables go in 'As early as 2-4 weeks before the date of the average last spring frost'; semi-hardy 'As early as 0-2 weeks before the date of the average last spring frost'; tender from seed 'around the date of the average last spring frost'; very tender 'Typically 2+ weeks after'. This is the source that states the offsets in weeks.

Where this rule sits in that range: hardy at 3 weeks is mid-range of CSU's 2-4. Half-hardy at 2 weeks is the EARLIEST EDGE of CSU's 0-2 - the most aggressive planting CSU sanctions, not the middle of it. The rule is inside published guidance at both ends, but it leans early on the half-hardy side and a gardener following it in a cold spring is taking that boundary.

Do not import an offset from another publication's hardiness scheme without checking the category names: CSU has no 'very hardy' tier, so a '4-6 weeks before frost' figure written against a four-tier scheme does not describe CSU's 'hardy'. Categories are not comparable across sources.

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Promising

A cole crop set out too early can bolt or "button": a long spell of cold on a young plant vernalizes it, and instead of a full head it runs to a premature flower stalk or forms a small, misshapen head.

suboptimal if ignored → advise

Mechanism: Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and their kin are biennials, so cold is their signal that a winter has passed and it is time to flower. A young plant that accumulates enough cold - a stretch of weather in the 40s F - is vernalized and switches from building leaves and a head to running up a flower stalk and setting seed. Set out before the weather has settled, a small transplant crosses that cold threshold before it has grown the leafy bulk a head needs, so it buttons (a tiny premature head) or bolts (runs to seed) rather than heading properly.

Evidence: confirmed against 2 sources in the research-based literature.

the 2 sources

UMN Extension, 'Growing cool-season crops - non-pest issues', extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/non-pest-issues-cool-season-crops (read 2026-08-21): 'Bolting refers to premature flowering. It occurs at any point after a plant has shifted into its reproductive stage'; 'Since bolting is partially triggered by the accumulation of cold, these strategies can reduce exposure to cold temperatures for young plants'; 'the ideal situation for cool-season vegetables is cool but moderate temperatures (50s and 60s) for the first month of growth'; 'when spring weather is quite cool, plants can experience vernalization early, and the result is buttoning up, or the formation of small, often misshapen heads.'

UMD Extension, 'Flower Stalks Form or Bolting of Vegetables', extension.umd.edu/resource/flower-stalks-form-or-bolting-vegetables (read 2026-08-21): 'Biennial vegetable crops complete their life cycle in 2 years. But many will produce flower stalks in response to cool or hot temperatures and long days'; 'Onion-biennial seed stalks form if weather is cool early in its growth cycle.'

remedy

Aim for cool-but-moderate weather - roughly the 50s and 60s F - through the plant's first weeks rather than rushing an early set-out; a stout transplant with several true leaves shrugs off a cold snap that would vernalize a tiny one, and a row cover holds the cold off if a spell threatens. This is the opposite failure from over-tender growth: harden the plant, but do not set it out into a cold that will check it.

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Another 107 rules in the corpus apply by situation rather than by species — rotation intervals, frost windows, sun, spacing and soil. Read the full evidence page.

Guilds that place it

Cite this page

Milpa Gardens. "Turnip (Brassica rapa)." https://milpa.garden/plants/brassica-rapa/

A garden-planning corpus: every claim states its evidence grade and links its sources on the page. Cite it with the grade, and add the date you read it.

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